


Without the Bitter, The Sweet Isn't As Sweet

by BabyyCakess



Category: CW Network RPF
Genre: Angst, Eventual Happy Ending, Fluff, M/M, Past Abuse, Teacher!jensen, daddy!Jared, mentions of mpreg
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-11-23
Updated: 2013-11-23
Packaged: 2018-01-02 10:02:09
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,893
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1055458
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BabyyCakess/pseuds/BabyyCakess
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Jared is a single dad, doing the best he can. Jensen is his daughter's teacher. This is how they fall in love.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Without the Bitter, The Sweet Isn't As Sweet

**Author's Note:**

  * For [cyeager](https://archiveofourown.org/users/cyeager/gifts).



> this was a prompt at j2-prompts on livejournal
> 
> Jensen is a kindergarten teacher whose newest student refuses to speak a word in class. When he schedules a parent-teacher conference with her dad, Jared, he falls in love at first sight. 
> 
> the title is actually a song by mayday parade (best band ever)

"Ally, are you okay?"

She nods, silent.

"Sweetie, is there something bothering you? Someone in class?"

She shakes her head, and the silence drags on. 

"Is there a problem at home?"

Wide eyes stare at Jensen and her lower lip trembles. She shakes her head adamantly, though.

Jensen continues on, worried. He's never met a five year old this quiet. It's disconcerting.

"You know you can talk to me...you can tell me anything. I'm your teacher and I'm here for you if you need anything," he gives her a small smile.

She returns it, half-hearted, and he can tell she's done with the conversation. 

"How about I walk you to your bus?" he offers. 

She nods and they walk out together, silent but both smiling.

*

"Hey, princess. How was your day?" Jared asks as Ally gets off the bus and runs to hug him.

She smiles up at him. "Mr. Ackles is really nice. I like him. I haven't made any friends yet, though."

Jared looks her in the eye. "It's okay, it's only your first day, baby. I'm sure you'll make plenty of new friends."

She bites her lip. "You really think so?"

He playfully bops her on the nose. "Of course, Ally. But don't forget about me, your best friend," he teases. 

"I won't, Daddy," she says with a giggle and it's his favorite sound. 

*

Next Monday, Jared makes sure Ally gets her bubble-bath, "with the tub toys, Daddy, duh" and reads her a story and she falls asleep quickly. As he's putting dinner away, the phone rings. 

"Hello?"

"Hi, is this Mr. Padalecki?"

"Jared."

"Jared. Okay. I'm Jensen Ackles, I'm Ally's teacher--"

"Is she in trouble?" Jared asks, confused. Ally's a good girl.

"No, no." Jensen quickly assures him. "I was just calling to see if you had an afternoon free? I'd just like to speak to you--in person--about some concerns I have."

Jared sighs. "Um. Yeah. Sure, no problem. When?"

"I'm free every day after school this week."

"Okay, tomorrow then?"

"That'd be great. Thank you."

Jared barely gets any sleep that night, worried about what tomorrow will bring.

*

"Thanks so much for doing this on such short notice, Soph," Jared says. 

"Jay, it's not a problem. I love Ally, I don't mind hanging out with her at all," Sophia replies with a wave of her manicured hand, then fluffs Ally's hair, making the little girl giggle. "You can just come pick her up whenever you're done," she says, not directly mentioning the parent-teacher conference in front of Ally.

Jared is so grateful that Sophia and Ally get along so well. Sophia had become a fast friend and Ally usually clung to Jared, wary of other people. But she and Sophia had clicked immediately, and it had become habitual that they had a "girls day" every Saturday, giving Jared some much-needed time to himself, as well. 

No one ever said being a single parent was easy.

It was worth it, though.

*

"What?" Jared gaped at Jensen. 

"She just doesn't speak. At all."

Jared sighs, runs a hand through his hair. 

"I'm sorry, Mr. Ackles." He sounds so tired. "I'll talk to her."

Before Jensen can say anything else, or try to comfort the man, Jared is gone.

*

"Ally, you aren't trying," Jared murmurs. 

She's sitting on his lap, arms around his neck, her tears soaking through his t-shirt.

She whimpers, and it sounds a lot like "sorry". 

"Baby, I know it's hard--starting over, moving, making new friends--but we had to. You know that, right?"

She looks up at him, face stained with tears. "I know, Daddy. And I like it here, I want to make friends and stuff, but I'm scared."

He sighs. "It's okay to be scared. I'm scared, too. But this was for the best. Please, try. Talk to the other kids, answer questions in class. Just be yourself. It's going to be okay," he encourages.

"Okay. I'll try."

He hugs her tighter, kisses her cheek. "Thank you," he whispers into her hair.

*

Jensen is shocked the next day when he sees Ally talking to the girl seated beside her.

More shocked when she raises her hand, answers questions correctly but always with an awkward, shy smile.

The little girl and her handsome dad are like a puzzle, but he's missing so many pieces.

He wants to solve this so badly.

*

Jensen schedules another parent-teacher conference.

*

"So she's doing better?" Jared asks with a smile. 

Jensen nods, grinning. "So much better. She's made quite a few friends and she speaks a lot now. It's a nice change."

Jared's still smiling, and Jensen wants to kiss his dimples. 

"Would you like to have dinner with me?" he blurts out, and he can feel his cheeks heating up, turning red.

Jared bites his lip, and Jensen feels a little better when he sees that Jared is blushing, too. 

"I don't think that would be entirely appropriate, Mr. Ackles." If Jensen wasn't so embarrassed, he might've been turned on by the low rumble of Jared's voice saying his name like that.

"We--it doesn't have to be a date. I know you're new in town and you can never have too many friends, right?" He backtracks quickly.

Jared's blush deepens. "Oh." A pause. "Yeah, that'd be nice, actually." 

Jensen is sure fireworks go off every time Jared Padalecki looks at him. It's so damn distracting. 

Jared writes down his cell number on a piece of paper, then says "Text me, we can hang out sometime," and then he's gone.

*

Jensen is invited over for dinner about a week later and Ally insists that he see her room. The walls are a pale pink, and there's flowery curtains. Her bedspread is lavender and she has an overflowing bookshelf. She points out all of her favorite books, like The Cat in the Hat and The Giver and asks Jensen about his favorites. Jared's grin is worth the embarrassment when he admits his love for the Junie B. Jones series. 

Jared makes spaghetti and meatballs, Ally's favorite, and Jensen is delighted to find that Jared is a fantastic cook. Which he probably should've expected, considering his status as a single parent.

After Ally goes to bed, Jared and Jensen have time to talk about "grown up" things and they find that they've got quite a bit in common; both from Texas, love the Cowboys, have similar taste in music and movies. They have so much in common, and so much chemistry.

When Jensen gets home, he falls asleep happy.

*

"Wanna go to the zoo?" 

Jensen's smile cannot be contained. 

"Sure," he answers. Over the past month and a half, he's spent more and more time with Jared and Ally. Dinners together, lunch dates on the weekend, walks to the park. It feels right. 

The time he spends alone with Jared is the best, though. He adores Ally, and he knows Jared loves his daughter more than anything. But he has so many walls put up, and when Jensen gets Jared alone, they seem to come down. It's like Jared tries to be Superman for his little girl, but Jensen gets to see him more human, vulnerable; he gets to see everything underneath.

He likes it.

They're just so comfortable together, they fit; they've become fast friends but there are times when Jensen feels the chemistry between them; almost too intense to ignore. 

He wants Jared, in every sense of the word. 

He wants to know everything about him, and he wants Jared to let him all the way in. 

*

The trip to the zoo was eventful, to say the least. 

Ally was freaked out by the tigers and hid her face in Jensen's jacket. 

Jensen's jacket. Not Jared's.

Jared smiled fondly at them and snapped a picture. 

Jensen felt like he was one step closer.

*

Ally looks so similar to Jared, it's almost scary. They both have dimples that dent their cheeks when they smile, and their eyes are the same pretty hazel with long lashes.

There's no doubt that she is Jared's daughter, and although he's curious, Jensen can't ever seem to find the right words to ask about the other parent. The absent parent.

When Jensen finds out the truth, he almost wishes he hadn't asked.

*

"How are you single?" Jensen had joked.

Jared smiled, but it didn't reach his eyes. 

"Lots of reasons, I suppose."

"Jare," Jensen starts, but Jared cuts him off. Presses a finger to his lips. 

"I know you want to know. And I think I'm ready to tell you." He takes a deep breath. "I trust you, Jen."

Jensen nods, speechless. "Okay."

Jared sighs, "I don't really know where to start, though," he confesses, and he sounds so tired.

"Baby," the term of endearment slips out without warning, "we don't have to do this right now. It's been a long day. It can wait."

Jared smiles, and he looks up at Jensen with watery eyes, so grateful.

"Okay," he says. 

*

It's a nice Saturday morning; Jensen is going to drop Ally off at Sophia's, let Jared sleep in. 

When he gets back, he'll make breakfast in bed, and he and Jared can have the talk that they've been putting off. 

Jensen doesn't know what this thing between them is, but it's right. It's real. He wants so badly to kiss Jared, to get his hands, his lips on every inch of the man, but the timing's never right. 

He's tired of waiting for the right time.

*

They pull into Sophia's driveway and Ally stays in the passenger seat, smiles sweetly at Jensen.

Too sweetly.

"You really like my Daddy, don't you?" she questions.

He smiles slightly, amused. 

"Yeah, I do," he confesses.

She bites her lip, silent for a moment and then continues, with confidence.

"You have to pinky promise not to hurt him." 

Jensen looks at her, heart in his throat. "What?"

"You can't hurt him. Please," her lower lip is trembling and he holds her little hand in his, tries to soothe her.

"Ally, what do you mean?" He's torn between covering his ears and begging for answers.

"You can't hurt him the way my--the way Jeff did."

"Okay," he says, still confused.

They hook their pinkies together, and then she gets out of the car, leaving him with even more unanswered questions than before.

*

"Jay, wake up."

The smell of pancakes rouses Jared from a deep sleep, and he smiles sleepily up at--

"Jensen," he murmurs affectionately. 

"Hey, sleepyhead," Jensen says, but his smile is strained and his eyes look sad and Jared sits up suddenly.

"Everything okay?" he asks.

Jensen nods, mumbles incoherently and then cheerfully exclaims, "I made pancakes!" 

Jared gets out of bed and races Jensen to the kitchen.

*

Jared is sipping his coffee when Jensen says

"Ally said something....strange...this morning,"

and Jared suddenly finds the counter-top very interesting.

"Oh," he says. Then, "what'd she say?"

Jensen sighs. "It obviously had something to do with your past and I think you could explain it better to me than a five year old."

Jared nods. "Yeah. Okay."

*

The noise of the dishwasher is the only sound in the house and Jared wonders how Jensen will react, if he'll realize he's gotten in too deep, that Jared's just not worth it; too much baggage and--

"My parents died in a car crash when I was 17," he starts. 

He hears Jensen's intake of breath. Listens to the pity, the "I'm so sorry, Jared," and then continues.

"I met Jeff after they died. I was--I was a mess and Jeff took care of me. He was older, 26 and so successful and attractive and he told me that things were gonna get better. He made me feel alive again." A pause. "He helped me."

Jared takes a deep breath. 

"I had goals, you know. I was gonna open my own restaurant and Jeff and I would get married and; we'd live the American dream."

Jared laughs, but it's so bitter, and Jensen hates the sound.

"Things really were good. For a long time. When I got pregnant with Ally, we were happy. But then I had her, and he was never around. He was always working late, always 'busy' and he just didn't have time for us. It was fine."

Jensen wants to tell Jared how perfect he is, how he deserves someone who will adore him. He wants to tell Jared how much he loves him. 

Instead, he stays silent, listens. 

"We lived like that for four years. We were just roommates. Jeff was barely ever home. But then he started drinking and he'd come home so angry, Jen. I never knew why. I didn't know how things got so messed up."

Jensen clenches his fists until they turn white.

"At first it was just--it was just words. He just wanted to hurt me. Said my cooking sucked, that I was stupid, useless. I was just never enough. But my personal favorite: I wasn't a good parent."

Jensen passionately cuts in, "Jay, you know that's not true, you're so fucking good with Ally, you're amazing, and smart and so goddamn beautiful, you have to know--"

Jared presses a gentle finger to his lips. "I know," he whispers. "I used to think he was right. I didn't like myself, for a long time," a pause, "but I got away from him, and then I met you, and things just seemed so much better. Everything fell into place and I felt safe again. Ally felt safe again."

Jensen has to know, has to cut to the chase and find out, "Did he ever hurt you? Physically?" The silence drags on for a few seconds, a few seconds too long and Jensen growls, so angry, "did he ever put his fucking hands on you, Jay?"

Jared flinches, just slightly, but it's enough of an answer. 

Oh my god, fuck, I'll kill him; Jensen's not sure if he says it aloud; he's not sure if he's going to throw up or punch a wall.

*

Jensen felt Jared wiping his tears. He hadn't even realized he was crying.

"I love you--so fucking much; I'd never hurt you, you know that, right?" he babbles, and Jared nods, eyes wet.

When their eyes are dry, and their minds are more calm, less chaotic, 

they kiss. 

*

Jared's underneath him, miles of golden skin, all his to touch and taste.

The thought leaves him dizzy, that this is his. Jared is his to love. 

"If you want me, Jen, I'm yours," Jared had whispered; so scared of rejection, but hopeful that this was enough, that this was a mutual love.

"Want you forever. Always. You and Ally. You're both mine."

Jared sighs, so happy. "I love you," he breathes, drops a kiss on Jensen's neck.

"I'll never hurt you, I promise."

Jared meets his eyes, says with absolute certainty, "I know."

*

"If you guys don't stop kissing, I'm moving in with Aunt Sophia," Ally complains.

But she's smiling, so happy that her dad is happy again.

Because of Jensen. 

*

She remembers a year ago, when her "Papa Jeff" had made her Daddy's skin turn black and blue all over; she'd heard the kicking, the sickening crunch of bones breaking, even through the wall. 

"Stay in your closet, and keep your bag with you, okay?" her dad had reminded her for the thousandth time.

"I know, Daddy, don't worry," she had assured him.

"Okay, princess. Stay in there, no matter what. Pinky promise."

They hooked their pinkies together, and he kissed both her cheeks, then left the room.

*

There was a lot of shouting at first; she caught snippets, heard things like "leaving me, you fucking whore" and "stop, Jeff, I've had enough" and she remembers crying when the front door was slammed, and then her dad stumbled into her room, his eye swollen shut, his skin had changed colors again, and she was so scared but he had promised "this is the last time we have to deal with him, okay? It's just gonna be you and me from now on." 

In theory, it sounded so nice. Just her and her dad.

*

But then she adored Jensen from the very first day and their plans changed.

*

Jared sees how good Jensen is with Ally, how sweet and gentle and he's so damn perfect.

It's not always smooth sailing; they argue sometimes, but he doesn't flinch away from Jensen anymore, and they work through the rough patches together. 

This is real love.

*

When Jensen gets down on one knee, he has a whole speech planned; he wants Jared to know how much he loves him, but Jared falls to his knees as well, kisses the words right out of Jensen's mouth. They pull apart and Jared just nods. 

*

Jensen slides the ring on Jared's finger and it's a perfect fit; like it was made just for him. It's cliched, but Jared thinks that maybe this was all meant to be; they're going to get married and they've got Ally and someday (soon, he hopes) he'll have green-eyed babies with bow-legs and dimples and this is not a happy ending, because they've still got their whole lives ahead of them. 

It's not a happy ending right now, but someday it will be.

**Author's Note:**

> Reviews are love <3


End file.
